Just For Fun

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. What music, audiobooks or podcasts have you been listening to lately?
   I’ve been listening to iTunes radio a lot, especially the classical station, and this one station called “On the Floor” with disco and dance music with a ’70s-ish to now tempo.

   I was listening to the R&B station, too, but I’d heard all of the songs in the rotation, and it started repeating over and over and over… Got to where if I’d heard Drake moan or groan one more time about how some girl never called him on his cell phone, I was going to open my window and scream at strangers on the street!

2. What’s the most complicated part of your makeup application process?
   Hmm… Well, I’m heavily invested in the “prep” phase, ya know, with the skin care, primers and all that good stuff you put on before the actual face paint, but my process is probably more complicated than most.

   After that, probably my eye makeup, although I’ve been paring back quite a bit lately. Ever since that cold. I’m still more into doing eye looks that don’t take a lot of time.

3. Has your pet ever dressed up for Halloween, and if so, what did he/she wear?
   I think you already know the answer to this question, haha! Because Tabs got rave reviews for his shark sweater, he’s thinking about bringing it out again this year.

   

4. Can you keep a secret?
   Only if you bribe me with sweets and/or threaten my cat.

   Just kidding! Yes, I can keep a secret. Yours is safe with me. 🙂

5. Something you’d like to do today?
   All I want to do is have a good day, and I want you to have the same. I’d like to approach every task with a happy heart. That’s my mantra for the day.

   Actually, my mantra for the week.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What music, audiobooks or podcasts have you been listening to lately?
2. What’s the most complicated part of your makeup application process?
3. Has your pet ever dressed up for Halloween, and if so, what did he/she wear?
4. Can you keep a secret?
5. Something you’d like to do today?

Good morning, my friend! I hope you’re having a good Monday so far. Part of the country is going through some tough weather right now with historically heavy rains, so I hope you’re OK wherever you are.

Tabs is just here supervising me, purr usual. He says, “MROW!” by the way.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Pickles, prunes and pregnancy, oh my! Your niece is 17 weeks old old now, and she’s doing great. Here’s a quick update.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addicts,

Karen and Baby Girl 🙂

P.S. Anyone else going to see The Martian tonight? I’m really looking forward to it. The previews look great, and I haven’t been to a movie in at least a month, which is a long time for me.

I’ve been going through popcorn withdrawals…

Not that it matters for the sake of the rules, because my only real rule when it comes to beauty is that there are no rules (I totally believe that there are soooo many different ways to get to the same beauty destination), but I have had more than my share of lightbulb “Aha!” moments, when I realized that if I’d been doing a technique differently along the way, it would have made my life easier.

The one that springs to my mind has to do with blending eyeshadows. I used to hold my blending brush way up close to the brush head and the ferrule, which led me to kind of push hard with the brush head against my skin. The bristles would visibly scrunch and bend while I blended.

Yeah… I’ve come to realize that this just made blending so much more difficult for me than it needed to be. It’s like I was trying to jam my eyeshadows into my skin, instead of blending and moving the powders along the surface.

Now I use a gentler touch and hold the brush closer to the back end of the handle, and I pay more attention to how much pressure I’m applying on the brush. If I see the bristles are scrunching and bending, I ease up. Blending’s been a whole lot easier and faster for me this way.

Oh! — I just remembered something else. I used to move the brush v-e-r-y slowly when I blended, because I guess I thought I had more control doing it that way, but it always took forever. Then I saw somewhere (I wish I could remember where) that when you’re blending eyeshadow, it’s better to use a quicker, smoother motion.

Well, I tried it once, and hurray! It was much easier to move the powders around, and they looked smoother. Now when I blend I move the brush quickly and use a light touch.

How about you, my sweet? Have you ever realized that you were doing a beauty technique completely wrong?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

With “1” being unimportant and “10” being very, VERY important, where do you fall?

I’m probably about an “8” on the flavor scale. If I really like a color and how the product performs, I can overlook a mildly funky flavor as long as it’s faint and fades quickly, but if something tastes a lot like plastic or feet or plastic feet (LOL! But you know it’s true sometimes…), then there’s no freakin’ way. Not even if it’s the most perfect lip product ever in the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen.

How about you? On a scale of 1-10, how important is flavor when it comes to lip products?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day! 🙂 Your tabby nephew has been sleeping on the bed all morning long. He must have been up late partying last night…

Helloooooo, there. 🙂 Greetings from Sniffles-ville!

I’m still kind of getting over that cold, but I desperately want to get out and do some beauty shopping… Maybe a really quick trip to Ulta or Sephora this afternoon, which reminds me — what are your three favorite ways to shop for beauty products?

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Hmm… My three are 1) freestanding stores, 2) big stores like Sephora and Ulta, and 3) drugstores.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. Tacos or burritos?
   Tacos all the way, man! — particularly crispy tacos with all the fixin’s, om nom nom!
2. What’s a project you’d like to start this week?
   I really need to start cleaning out my closet and pulling out my cold weather clothes.

   Yes, it really does get cold here! Yes, even in California. 🙂 Well…cold for us. It’ll drop down into the low 30s sometimes.

   So I have to put away my summer clothes that I’m hoping — fingers crossed — to be able to wear again next summer after Baby Girl arrives, and dig out a bunch of sweaters and scarves from last winter. Oh, and I would to figure out what happens to all of my cold weather socks.

   It’s that darned sock monster, I guess…

3. If you had your own Ferris Bueller-style day off, what would it be like?
   I’d sleep in, of course, then have breakfast in bed with banana pancakes (which I wouldn’t have to cook!). Then, a trip to The Nob Hill Spa in San Francisco, and after several hours of getting blissed out of my mind with back-to-back massages (all I want in life right now is for someone to rub my lower back…), Jon Snow from Game of Thrones would show up and read Sense and Sensibility to me in the spa’s Zen Room while I drifted to sleep for a nice, long nap…

   After my nap, I’d have chocolate cake, then get a text from El Hub saying that we won the lottery, yay! 🙂 And then I’d go to Chanel and buy shoes for myself and purses for my mom and mom-in-law. LOL!

   Then I’d accidentally get swept up in a parade and end up on a float where I’d toss candy out to the crowd.

4. What do you listen to while you’re getting ready?
   Most of the time, iTunes Radio, especially the classical, R&B and pop stations. But sometimes I’ll just open the windows for some fresh air and listen to the birds outside.
5. What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you while you were home alone?
   Well, I wasn’t exactly alone, because my younger brother was also there, but one time back in high school when my parents had gone out for the evening, my brother and I were watching TV in the living room, and out of the corner of my eye I saw something move in the backyard through the window.

   It looked like a person crouching down and looking inside!

   Adrenaline shot through my body! I grabbed my brother and was halfway to the phone before I realized, whoops! — it wasn’t a prowler… It was a plastic bag stuck in a tree outside. 🙂

   I always feel silly when I remember that one, but I’m still amazed by how quickly the fight/flight response kicked in and how the adrenalin surged through me. Crazy stuff!

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Tacos or burritos?
2. What’s a project you’d like to start this week?
3. If you had your own Ferris Bueller-style day off, what would it be like?
4. What do you listen to while you’re getting ready?
5. What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you while you were home alone?

Hi, my sweet friend. *waves hi from sniffleland* I’m happy to report that your tabby was indeed an excellent kitty nurse last weekend. He fussed over me and made sure I drank plenty of fluids to help me get over this cold. He also did a great job monitoring my naps.

I’m not 100% yet, but I’m getting there… I’m just happy to be upright and somewhat functional today! It’s the little things, ya know?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that your Monday has been all pumpkin lattes and rainbow ponies so far.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen